The Colorado Eagles have always considered themselves a family, but the Hood cousins are taking it a step further this season.

When Dylan Hood suited up on Wednesday night for Colorado's game against Idaho, he joined Kyle Hood in the lineup to become the fourth set of family members to play for the team. The other three sets -- the Penners, the Haus and the Ceys -- were all brothers.

For Dylan, however, the elder Kyle might as well be a brother. With him around the last couple weeks, the rookie has had someone close to lean on.

"More than I ever thought it would," Dylan, 22, said. "He's definitely helped get into certain things and has given me little talks on the ice, just little things he sees. I really respect him, and he's been a pretty good mentor for me, not only this year, but growing up. He's definitely helped my development."

Dylan Hood is a forward for the Eagles, while Kyle plays defense. However, Kyle has also played a lot of forward as a pro, even up until last year with the Arizona Sundogs.

Kyle Hood, 28, had already kind of gone through the motions by the time Dylan and another one of Dylan's brothers were ready to get into juniors, and he said he took pleasure in taking both of them under his wing a bit.

"The two of them were a lot younger than me, and I had gone through the junior thing and knew what to expect, so I think it's been a good transition for him into juniors and now even pro," Kyle said. "We keep in contact quite a bit, work out together in the summer and hang out together.

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"He could see what it really took to be a pro, and he worked really hard this summer and I think it's showing right now."

Crowded up front

The Eagles roster might get a little more cloudy come this weekend, as the St. John's IceCaps re-assigned forward Ray Kaunisto to the ECHL affiliate. Kaunisto joins the team having played two near-full seasons with Manchester of the AHL (131 games), collecting 22 points in 74 contests in 2011-12.

Kaunisto is expected to be in the lineup on Friday night.

The great outdoors

Following in the footsteps of the NHL and AHL, the ECHL in early 2015 will put together its first outdoor hockey game, as announced by the Toledo Walleye last week.

During a winter celebration that will last 10 days between 2014 and 2015, the city of Toledo will transform Fifth Third Field into a fully functional hockey rink, and the Walleye will take on another ECHL team yet to be announced.

The outdoor games have been very well received in both the NHL and AHL. A 2012 contest between the Adirondack Phantoms and the Hershey Bears at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia saw more than 45,000 in attendance.

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